1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of light triggered thyristors generally and is specifically directed to a method of firing or triggering such devices.
2. Description of Prior Art
It is well known to fire or trigger a light triggered thyristor (LT.sup.2) by switching the LT.sup.2 from the blocking state to the conducting state with light energy.
A LT.sup.2 will generally have a photocathode region, an amplifying gate region and a main cathode region.
When the triggering light strikes the photocathode region, the photocurrent "turns on" the photocathode region first. The resulting current passing through the photocathode in turn triggers or "turns on" the amplifying gate region and the main cathode region.